1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tube for the withdrawl of flexible material through a radial opening extending into an axial opening or a coil, and to a package including such a coil and tube.
2. The Prior Art
Various types of withdrawal tubes have been known, for example from Gordon U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,490. These tubes however have a disadvantage in that they are not firmly fixed in the package, and may be displaced to an inoperative position during shipment.
It has also been proposed to use a tube of this type having a flange spaced from its outer end and having projections on the flange which pass through notches in the wall of the container, after which the flanges turn so that the projections overlie uninterrupted portions of the container wall. It has also been proposed to slope the inner surfaces of these projections so that they can be more readily turned on the box. However, whether two or four projections are used, the portion of the box wall engaged by the projections is relatively small, and there is danger that the tubes will be pushed back into the box during handling and shipment, so that they will no longer serve adequately to guide the payout of the material.
There has been suggested another tube structure in which the tube has spaced from its outer end a first flange for engaging the outside of the coil inside the container, and a second flange adjacent the outer end and spaced from the first flange, the second flange having notches therein and having portions adjacent the notches which are sloped angularly outward, so that when the package is inserted in a container the sloped portions can pass through notches in an opening in the container wall and upon turning will ride up so that the outer flange engages the outside of the wall over substantially its whole area.
In that proposed tube, the tube extends out beyond the outer flange by a distance substantially equal to the projection of the outwardly bent portions. This construction has the disadvantage that the substantial projection makes it quite likely that the tube may be struck during handling or transit, and thus displaced, so that payout is interfered with.